Apple Torte and Skipping Ahead

When my Stunt Guy was in town a couple of weeks ago, he was working a convention that provided lunch for all of the volunteers. Those silly people were going through their lunches and pulling out their apples, and they got dumped into a big bag. At the end of the convention, everyone was leaving town and the bag of apples needed a home. Since they knew he has a girl that lives here, they gave the bag to John and he in turn gave it to me.

So  had a giant bag of apples and a sweet tooth. My first thought was to see about making Tarte Tartine. There is a recipe in Molly Wizenberg's book A Homemade Life that I keep meaning to make. On further inspection, though, it required puff pastry and I didn't have any on hand. So I decided to turn it into a simple torte.

I used my fancy new quiche pan that I hadn't broken in yet and wished after that I'd used a pie pan, because it didn't spread the way I thought it would. I pulled is out of the oven, let it cool, and drizzled on some whipped cream. Not bad, I thought, after chowing down on a slice. But nothing to blog home about. I then wrapped the torte in plastic wrap, got busy, and left it on the kitchen counter.

Skip ahead.

Two days later I'm craving a snack (and some more counter space). I decided to see if I should throw the Apple Torte either in the trash or in the freezer. I pull off another slice, drizzle over a smidge more cream, and take a bite, fully expecting a stale and horrible mouthful of sawdust.

Woah. Not the case my friends, not the case indeed. Over the two days, the juices from the apples had soaked even more into the surrounding sponge, and the cake was now flavorful.....moist...delicate.... delicious! Everything that I had wanted it to be after pulling it out of the oven. I was stunned and delighted.

So you should make this. Then, you should leave it wrapped up in plastic wrap and eat it a day or two later. It's delightful.


Apple Torte

Use apples that are on the tart side rather than the sweet side for this. 

3 Apples, peeled and diced (or sliced)
4 Tablespoons Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 Cup Flour
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/8 Teaspoon Salt

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch pie pan.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix well. Sift in the flour, baking powder and baking soda. You'll have a fairly thick dough. With your hands, add in the apples and work into the dough as best you can. It'll be stiff and seem like a lot more apple than dough. Press into the pie pan.

Bake for one hour until the top is turning golden brown. Let cool all the way.

Eat, two days later, with surprise, delight, and a drizzle of cream.

Makes 8 servings.

One Year Ago: Fried Green Tomatoes

No Crust Raspberry and Apple Pie

 

I'm having one of those months where there really just isn't enough time in any day to get things done. I've been traveling, working, writing here and there, and in all of this no time has been found to clean the bathroom or do my laundry.

Tomorrow, my gorgeous Stunt Guy gets here and will spend twelve days in the Valley. I'm exceptionally excited that I'll get to see him, though mildly nervous that absolutely nothing will get done either before he gets here, or while he is here.

I'm working on just letting all that go, though, because I'm just so gosh darn mushy about the whole thing! Besides, I feel that it is unlikely that my guy will actually notice the cleanliness level of the bathroom. It's probably not his number one priority.

I'm excited that I'll have someone to cook for, though. It's one of the things that makes me saddest about living away from him. I love making him food.

Since he left, I feel like everything I've made ends up as a single serving in a little ramekin. This little Apple and Raspberry "Pie" is no exception. It came, as many of my recipes do, out of necessity. Too many apples that needed eating and a deal on raspberries that I couldn't pass up. I wanted something light, so instead of crusting it I just topped it with meringue, something else I've been playing around with a lot recently. The meringue topping here is soft and yielding, more like the meringue on a key lime pie than anything else. The sweetness of it balances the tartness of the raspberries. It's a really delicious spoonful.


No Crust Raspberry and Apple Pie

For the Filling

1 Apple
1/2 Cup Raspberries
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
Dash of Salt

For the Topping

2 Egg Whites
1/3 Cup Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon White Vinegar

Preheat your oven to 350F. 

Peel the apple and dice it into small cubes. In a skillet over medium heat, mix the butter, brown sugar and apple together with a dash of salt and cook until the apple is pretty soft. Probably about 10 minutes.

While the apple is cooking, whisk the egg whites with the vinegar until stiff and forming peaks. Whisk in the sugar a tablespoon at a time until it is glossy and the peaks don't fall back when you take the whisk out.

Divide the apple and the raspberries between two medium ramekins. Mix together and top with the meringue mixture. Bake in the oven until the meringue has turned a light brown, about 8 minutes. You want the meringue soft and airy, not crunchy.

Allow to cool a little before serving, as the filling will be a bit too hot. The meringue might collapse a little as it cools, but it should mostly be firm.

Eat with a spoon at two in the afternoon and try and justify it to yourself as "lunch".

Makes two.